Two high-profile Texas faculty dismissals have produced divergent institutional outcomes this month, underscoring rising political pressure on academic governance. Texas A&M’s Committee on Academic Freedom, Responsibility and Tenure voted unanimously that the system wrongly fired an English professor after conservative backlash over a gender-identity lecture, finding procedural errors and lack of justification. By contrast, the Texas State University Board of Regents upheld the removal of a tenured history professor for remarks at a socialist conference, endorsing administrative claims that the conduct warranted dismissal. Both cases involved political actors and social-media amplification; Texas A&M’s controversy led to the president’s resignation earlier this year. The split rulings leave campus leaders and faculty governance bodies with no single blueprint: disciplinary outcomes now hinge on local policy processes, public pressure, and governing-board politics.